New procedure for the fight against viruses

Researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Regensburg and Sulzbach are working together with industry partners on a novel analysis method in the "Virosens" project to make the efficacy testing of vaccines more efficient and cost-effective. The method combines electrochemical sensors and biotechnology and for the first time enables a fully automated analysis of the infection status of test cells. 

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT are currently working with Nano Analytics and Innome on a new solution for the measurement of antiviral neutralizing antibodies. The test cells are based on multi-electrode arrays, which allow fully automated detection of their infection status using electrochemical measurement techniques. This eliminates the complex dyeing reactions of conventional tests, which saves time and money. 

The cells are also continuously monitored over a longer period of time. In the previously used dyeing tests, they are analyzed only at a certain time. This gives the researchers additional information about the time course of the cell reaction, which was previously inaccessible. The consortium has set itself the goal of researching a corresponding complete system including the measuring device, the associated analysis software and the electrode arrays necessary for cell observation, and to convert them into laboratory setups that pave the way for later market introduction. The project Virosens is innovatively funded by the BMBF in the SME promotion directive.